Connecting Linux or UNIX system to Network attached storage device

Network attached storage (NAS) allows using TCP/IP network to backup files. This enables multiple servers in IDC to share the same storage for backup at once, which minimizes overhead by centrally managing hard disks. NAS is scalable, high performance network solution. The main advantage is more hard disk storage space added to a network that already utilizes servers without shutting them down for maintenance and upgrades.

Please note that NAS are not just common in IDC or offices but you can use it for file sharing and backup at home. You can purchase 200+GB NAS for less than $200 these days. Personally, I am using Maxtor ShareStorage 200GB Network Attached Storage at home. This is a step-by-step guide on connecting Linux or UNIX systems to SAN for backup or sharing files.

The protocol used with NAS is a file-based protocol such as NFS or Microsoft’s Common Internet File System (CIFS). Both of them allow storing backups using UNIX and Linux servers or Windows 2003 server.

However many new Linux or UNIX sys admin find it difficult to use NAS backup. Here are quick handy tips most newbie will find useful.

(A) Use IP address of NAS. If you do not have properly configured SAMBA server it is difficult to resolve hostnames. IP address will save your time.

(B) If you are using IPTABLES or PF firewall then make sure the following UDP/TCP ports are open between your firewall and the NAS Backup Server:

Please note that when configuring a firewall, the high order ports (1024-65535) are often used for outgoing connections and therefore should be permitted through the firewall. It is prudent to block incoming packets on the high order ports except for established connections. This is what you are doing in above FTP and CIFS client request.

How do I access NAS server using FTP?

You need to use Internet file transfer program (FTP) that comes with UNIX/Linux or windows. Most service provider will provide you:

NAS Server IP (e.g. 202.54.20.111 / nas.myserviceprovider.com)

NAS FTP Username (e.g. nixcraft)

NAS FTP Password (e.g. mySecret)

Let us assume you have file called mysqldump.tar.gz. You can put this file to NAS backup server using following ftp command:

CIFS is well supported on 2.6 kernels and many modern distributions have support for it by default, so no kernel recompile is needed. Not only CIFS is newer and has support for 2GB, but also has enhanced features like STEGO session setup and Kerberos support.